seeing that the malice thereof hath gone so farre as to take away the life of the God of Heauen there is not that ill which wee ought not to feare Wee are to feare the Sea euen then when it promiseth fairest weather This speech of our Sauiours might likewise seeme vnto them to be some Parable for that which the Will affecteth not the Vnderstanding doth not halfe well apprehend it He sayd vnto the Iewes Oportet exaâ—tari â—ilium hominis The sonne of man must be lifted vp And they presently tooke hold of it The Angels told Lot that Sodome should be consumed with fire and brimstone from Heauen and he aduising his sonnes in law thereof He seemed vnto them as one that mocked Precept must be vpon precept line vpon line here a little and there a little Often doe the Prophets repeat Haec mandat Dominus Expecta Dominum sustine Dominum modicum adhuc modicum ego visitabâ— sanguinem c. abscondere modicum Thus sayth the Lord Waâ—te for the Lord yet a little while and a little while I wil visit the Bloud c. They that â—eard Esay mockt at him in their feasts and banquets saying Wee know before hand what the Prophet will preach vnto vs. And this is the fashion of Worldlings to scoffe at those whom God sends vnto them for their good Tunc accessit mater filiorum Zebedâ—i c. Then came vnto him the mother of the sonnes of Zebedee c. Adonias tooke an vnseasonable time hauing offended Sâ—lâ—mâ—n with those mutinies which hee had occasioned to make himselfe King and euen then when hee ought to haue stood in feare of his displeasure he vndaduisedly craues of him to giue him his fathers Shunamite to wife This seemed to Salomon so foolish and so shamelesse a petition that he caused his life to be taken from him Accessit mater The mother came Parents commonly desire to leaue their children more rich and wealthy than holy and religious A mother would wish her daughter rather beautie than vertue a good dowrie than good endowments Saint Augustine saith of himselfe That he had a father that tooke more care to make him a Courtier of the earth than of Heauen desired more that the world should celebrate him for a wise and discreet man than to be accounted one of Christs followers Saint Chrysostome saith That of our children wee make little reckoning but of the wealth that we are to leaue them exceeding much Being like vnto that sicke man who not thinking of the danger wherein he is cuts him out new cloathes and entertaineth new seruants A Gentleman will take more care of his Horse and a great Lord of his estate than of his children For his Horse the one will looke out a good rider and such a one as shal see him well fed and drest The other a very good Steward for his lands but for their children which is their best riches and greatest inheritance they are carelesse in their choice of a good Tutor or Gouernor In his Booke De Vita Monastica the said Doctour citeth the example of Iob who did not care so much that his children should be rich well esteemed and respected in the world as that they should be holy and religious He rose vp early in the morning and offered burnt Offerings according to the number of theâ— all For Iob thought It may be my sons haue sinned and blasphemed God in their hearts Thus did Iob euerie day Saint Augustine reporteth of his mother That she gaue great store of almes and that she went twice a day to the Church and that kneeling downe vpon her knees shee poured forth many teares from her eyes not begging gold nor siluer of God but that he would be pleased to conuert her son and bring him to the true Faith The mother came These her sonnes thought themselues now cocke-sure for they knew that our Sauiour Christ had some obligation to their mother for those kindnesses which she had done him and for those good helpes which hee had receiued from her in his wants and necessities deeming it as a thing of nothing and as a sute already granted That he would giue them the chiefest places of gouerment in that their hoped for Kingdom Whence I infer that to a gouernor it is a shrewd pledge ofhis saluation to receiue a curtesie for that he is thereby as it were bought and bound to make requitall And as in him that buyes 〈◊〉 is not the goodnesse or badnesse of such a commoditie but the money that 〈◊〉 most stood vpon as in gaming men respect not so much the persons they play with as the mony they play for so this businesse of prouiding for our childreâ— is a kind of buying to profit and a greedie gaining by play The King of Sodome said vnto Abraham Giue me the persons and take the goods to thy selfe 〈◊〉 Abraham would not take so much as a thred or shooe-latchet of all that was his and that for two verie good reasons The one That an Infidell might not hereafter boast and make his brag saying I haue made Abraham rich it was I that made him a man The other That he might not haue a tie vpon him and so buy out his liberty For guifts as Nazianzen saith are a kind of purchase of a mans freehold 〈◊〉 giue for meere loue cannot be condemned because it is a thing which God hiâ—â—selfe doth to whom the Kings and Princes of the earth should come as neere as they can But to giue to receiue againe is a clapping of gyues and fetters on the receiuer And the poorer sort of men being commonly the worthiest because they haue not wherewithall to giue they likewise come not to get any thing Theodoret pondereth the reasons why Isaac was inclined to conferre the blessing on Esau. First Because he was his first borne to whom of right it belonged Secondly For that he had euer beene louing and obedient vnto him Thirdly Because he was well behaued and had good naturall parts in him Fourthly and lastly hee addeth this as a more powerfull and forcible reason than all the rest That being as he was a great Hunter he brought home so many Regalos and daintie morcells for to please his fathers palate which wrought more vpon aged Isaac than his being his sonne And if gifts are such strong Gyants that they captiuate the Saints of God Munera crede mihi excacant homines qùe Deosque What are we to expect from sinners Saint Bernard complaineth That in his time this moth had entred not onely vpon the distribution of secular honours but also vpon Ecclesiasticall preferments He earnestly exhorteth Pope Eugenius That he place such Bishops in the Church who out of widdowes dowries the patrimonie of the crucified God should not inrich their Kindred who take more pleasure in the pampering of a young Mule spred ouer with a faire foot-cloath than to clap caparisons on
shee bare mee but because she heard my word And this sence is taken out of two places of Saint Augustine The one in his tenth tract vpon Saint Iohn where he saith Mater quam appellas foelicem non inde foelix quia in ea verbum caro factum est sed quia Verba Dei custodit That mother of myne whom thou callest blessed was not therefore blessed because in her the Word was made Flesh but because she layd vp the word of God in her heart The other in his thirtie eight Epistle which he writes to a Gentleman called Letus who being newly conuerted was shrewdly layd at by his mother persuading him all that she possibly could that he should not proceed in this his determination And proouing vnto him That in this cause he ought to denie and hate that mother that had brought him forth according to the flesh and to follow the Church by which he was regenerated borne anew according to the Spirit Amongst many other weightie reasons to mooue him thereunto hee vrgeth this amongst the rest Thy King and thy Emperour Christ saith he had a mother and such a mother as neuer man had the like and being one day busie in preaching which was Heauens businesse they told him That his mother and his brethren were without at the doore expecting that he should come forth vnto them But he stretching out his hand to his Disciples said Quae mater Et qui fratres mei Who is my mother and who my bretheren My mother and my brethren are they who doe the will of my Father as for any other Kindred or bloud I acknowledge none Summing vp saith Saint Augustine in this number etiam ipsam Virginem Mariam euen the Virgin Marie her selfe For the name of Mother is terrestriall temporall and transitorie but that kindred which is contracted by hearing Gods Word is celestiall and euerlasting If this doubt had had it's occasion thus or that the case stood so that this good and holy woman Marcella had not knowne and acknowledged our Sauiour Iesus Christ to be God nor the blessed Virgin to be his mother this â—ence had then beene verie plaine and no scruple to be made of it for the dignitie of mother should not haue come to a lesser degree of grace than that which the Virgin inioyed The second sence or meaning is That this particle Quin imo is comparatiua comparatiuely spoken or by way of comparison Thou callest my mother blessed for that she is my mother thou sayest well but more blessed is shee in that she heares my Word This sence is likewise taken out of Saint Augustine Libro de sancta Virginitatepunc Where he saith Beatior suit Maria concipiendo â—ente quam ventre Marie was happier in the conception of her mind than of her wombe And anon after Foelicius gestauit corde quam carâ—e She bore him more happily in the Spirit than the Flesh. This opinion is followed by Saint Cyprian Iustine Martyr and generally by all the moderne Doctours and this of all other is the plainest and that which doth best open oâ—r Sauiour Christs intention and purpose First Because the Greeke word which answereth to Quin imo is neither a Negatiue nor an Affirmatiue Secondly because this happinesse beeing granted vnto those who saw and beheld our Sauior Christ with their eyes it is not to be supposed that it should bee denyed to his Mother that had brought him foorth and bred him vp Besides the Virgine said of her selfe All nations shall call me blessed Not only for that aboundance of grace which God had bestowed vpon her but also for that he had inriched her with so many great priuiledges whereof the dignitie of a Mother was not the least Saint Austen indeering the greatnesse thereof saith That the heart could not conceiue it nor the tongue expresse it And Anselmus That next to the greatnesse of the Son there was not any greatnesse either in Heauen or in Earth which was any way comparable to that of the Mother And S. Bernard That by how much the more was her vicinitie with the word by so much the more was her excellencie in Heauen Whence some Schoolemen inferre that this dignitie doth exceed al those other treasures of grace which were to be found in the Virgine Iustine sayth of Olimpia that howbeit she might boast herselfe much of the Kingdome of Troy from whence she was descended from other kingdomes which she might claime from her father her brother and her husband who was Philip King of Macedon yet could she glorie in no one thing more than that she was Mother to Alexander the Great who was Emperor of the world How much more strongly doth this reason hold in the most blessed Virgine Yet notwithstanding all this nothing comparable is the dignitie of a Mother to that of a daughter or a wife And if it had bin left to this our most blessed Virgins choice whether she had rather haue been the Mother of God or his Spouse and best Beloued shee would questionlesse haue rather chosen to haue beene his Beloued And the same is implyed by those seueral imployments of Martha and Mary As the Virgin was a Mother she did Marthas office affoording her breâ—â—s to our Sauior Christ wrapping him vp in his swadling clouts breeding him and attending vpon him But as she was a Daughter and a Spouse she did Maries dutie hauing her eare still eyed to his mouth and diligently listening to those heauenly words that proceeded from thence And there arising a quarrell betwixâ— these two sisters which of them loued our Sauior best our Sauior soon decided the controuersie when he sayd Mary hath chosen the better part And this is made cleere in the example of the Queene Mother and the Prince that is heire to his Fathers Kingdome The Queene no doubt hath a great part in the King and Kingdome But the Prince more who must one day commaund all King Sâ—lomon honoured his Mother much and as soone as he had taken possession of the Kingdome he offered his seruice vnto her and that he and all that he had was at her commaund but in conclusion he left that to his sonne Rehoboam Of his 〈◊〉 will saith Saint Iames begot he vs with the word of truth that we should be at the 〈◊〉 fruits of his creatures Vt Simus initium One Commentator hath it Vt principaâ—um habeamus that we may haue principalitie The Greeke That wee may bee the Majorasgos The elder sonnes and heires of his Kingdome In the Stockes and Linages of men there are innumerable differences of more and of lesse of higher and lower But that which doth aduance and aduantage vs most is the hearing of Gods word The glorious Doctor Saint Austen sayâ—h That which passeth amongst Naâ—â—ons passeth likewise amongst Men. God preferred the Iewes before all other Nations Non fecit taliter â—â—ni nationi c. He had not dealt so with any other
ouer this life in poore Cabbins now we liue but three dayes as it were and we build houses as if we meant to liue for euer they are so strong and durable Esau sould his birthright for a messe of pottage but he excused his so doing for that he saw his death was so neere at hand En morior quid proderunt mihi primogenita i. Behold I am readie to die what will birthright profit me Saint Austen puts a doubt why the Aegyptians did so freely bestow their jewells and their gold and siluer on the Hebrews and the resolution is That seeing their first begotten were all dead they made light reckoning of those things which before they so much esteemed Abulensis moues a doubt Why the Gyants of the promised land did not deuoure the Israelites being but as grashoppers in comparison of their greatnesse Whereunto is a twofold answer The first That they came in as strangers from whom they presumed they could receiue no hurt The second That God sent a consuming plague amongst them Terra deuorat habitatores suoâ— i. The Earth deuoureth her Inhabitants And there is no man of what strength or mettall soeuer that hath not Deaths dart sticking in his sides There is a great deale of difference made of honour and wealth between the liuing and the dying man the rich Miser that would not giue Lazarus a crum would vndoubtedly when he was a dying haue beene contented he should haue had all the meat on his Table And as Death doth mortifie andmake the flesh of Birds and Beasts more tender so doth it soften in men their hard bowells and causes pittie in their Soules and is the Key that openeth their close-fistednesse We read of certaine Fooles that said To-morrow we shall die let vs therefore laugh and be merrie and inioy the pleasures of this world for these thought there was no other life but this But Paul who was sorie to see this made no such consequence but the contrary Death is neere at hand let vs vse this world therefore as we vs'd it not c. Two things saith Seneca are the summe of our life Nasci Mori To be borne and to die Gregory Nissen treating of that place of Salomon Omnia tempus habent There is a time for all things notes That this wise man ioines our Nasci with a Mori as being neere neighbors and many times the time of death preuents that of our birth c. Age paenetentiam Repent There are two things to be considered in Repentance 1 That it is alwaies good 2 That it must be decent and discreete For the first It subdues the flesh makes it willing to submit it selfe to become obedient to the spirit Read Leo. Pap. Ser. 4 de Ieiun Vide Cyp. Orat. de Ieiun de Tent. Christi and Tho. 2.2 q. 15. Peccasti saith Saint Chrysostome poenitere Millies peccasti millies poenitere i. Hast thou sinned a thousand times repent a thousand times Saint Austen saith That the Deuil being desirous that Man should not repent himselfe of his sinnes is still whispering him in the eare Why doest thou torment and afflict thy selfe It is strange that God should take pleasure to see thy destruction Bread suffers martyrdome till it be brought to the boord Siluer the same till it be wrought into a vessell of Plate Stone till it be placed in the house for which it was hewen the Sacrifice till it be laid on the Altar it is no maruell then that Christians should suffer much who so much desire to bee the Bread the Vessells the Stones and the Sacrifice for Gods House and his owne Table The second point is That our Repentance should be decent and discreet This may serue for a few for there are but few that will exceede To whom wee prescribe Saint Pauls rule Rationabile obsequium vestrum Your seruice must be weighed in the Ballance of reason A Slaue when he is stubborne and rebellious deserueth the whip but the correction must not bee so cruell as to occasion his death Ecclesiasticus treating That it is good to correct a seruant doth put this in for a counterpoise Verumtamen sine judicio nihil facias graue i. Doe nothing without discretion Nay euen towards our Beast malicious crueltie is condemned Nouit justus jumentorum suorum animas i. A rightuous man regardeth the life of his Beast He will not lay more vpon them than they can beare Viscera autem impiorum crudelia i. But the bowells of the wicked are cruell Two things are to bee considered in our Repentance the one The grieuousnesse of the fault for to make light repentance for great sinnes is a great inequalitie as Saint Ambrose noteth it And Saint Hierome saith That the Repentance ought to exceede the fault or at least equall it Not that humane weaknesse can make full satisfaction for it's heinous sins but that it be performed in some proportion The councel of Agatha declareth the custome that was vsed in this kind in the Primitiue Church to wit That they that were publike scandalous Sinners did present themselues in a kind of soutage or course Sacke-cloath before the Bishop accompanied with all the Clergie who inioyned him pennance according to his offence banishing him from the Church for some such time as they thought fit But in a word As the Flower is spoyled for want of water so is it marr'd by too much Our life is a tender Flower and stands vpon a feeble stalke Qui quasi flos egreditur conteritur and as it is spoyled with the ouermuch verdure of delights and humane pleasures so likewise it is quite marr'd through the sterilitie of moderate recreation and honest pastimes and with the too much drought of torment Columella in his booke of Husbandrie saith That Hay must not be made when the grasse is too green nor too dry Our flesh is like grasse to haue it cut in a good sâ—ason it must neither haue too much greenenesse of iollitie nor too much drinesse of trouble for the one doth rot and taint it and the other doth wast and consume it Likewise there must be a care had to the season for the cure As often therefore as a man shall find himselfe wounded by sinne so often must hee apply the plaister of Repentance And as to deferre the cure in a dangerous sicknes breeds great perill so stands it with the putting off Repentance from day to day There are three differences of Time Time past present and to come that which is past is no more that which is to come is in Gods hands and that hee should bestow it vpon vs is his liberalitie and goodnesse the present is but short and for ought I know I may presently die And herein is mans madnesse seene for there is scarce that man to bee found that thinkes it now to day a good time to repent him of his sinnes but with the Crow cries
the day of the new Law driuing from vs the darkenesse of the old Law And therefore those times of the old Testament were called by the name of Night Nox praecessit i. The Night is pâ—st c. The other for that all Masters whatsoeuer in the World besides doe not effectually persuade and moue the Will of man But this Master of ours doth penetrate with his words the very innermost parts of the Soule and the secret corners of the Heart He mooues it and persuades it by milde yet powerfull meanes Esay making a promise on Gods behalfe to his people this Doctor touched both these effects Dabit tibi Deus panem aâ—ctum aquam breuem i. God will giue thee a little water and a little bread but much learning for thou shalt behold thy Master with thine eyes Erunâ— oculi tui videntes praecâ—pâ—â—rum And with thy eares shalt thou heare his voice Et aures tuae audient post terâ—a monentis Who shall bee still admonishing and persuading thee Haec est via ambulate in ea This is the way walke in it A little water and a little bread but much light of learning for towards those whom God best loueth he carries a hard and straight hand in those good things which concerne the bodie but showes himself very franke and liberall in those blessings that belong to the Soule And one dramme of Wisedome is better than many quintals of Gold God did applaud Salomons petition because making slight account of riches of lordships and of reuenging himselfe vpon his enemies he did begge Wisedome at his hands and therefore possessed with this diuine Spirit hee sayd afterwards Wisâ—dome is better than the most precious Riches and whatsoeuer is to bee desired is not comparable to it Saint Ierome noteth that the Prophet sayth Thou shalt see this thy Master with thy eyes in regard of those just and right actions which hee shall alwayes set before thine eyes And that thou shalt heare him with thy eares in regard that as thou art a sinner hee shall be still calling thee to repentance preaching and crying out vnto thee to returne backe from thy euill wayes shewing thee that This is the way walke in it It is a metaphore borrowed from a Trauailour that hath lost his way amongst woods and rockes where hee is ready at euerie step to breake his neck and therefore like a good sheapheard greeuing to see him thus wilfully to runne on to his destruction hee calleth out aloud vnto him telling him This is the way In like manner the World beeing as it were lost and blinded in the true knowledge of God and his sonne Christ Iesus setting before vs the way of the Gospell hee cries out vnto vs that wee might not goe astray Haec est via This is the way This was a great and extraordinarie fauour and the Prophet Ioel giues the paralell thereof to the Church Filij Syon exaltate latamini in Domino Dâ—o vestro quia dedit vobis Doctâ—rem iustitiae 1. Exalt yee sonnes of Sion and reioyce in the Lord your God who hath giuen you a Teacher of Righteousnesse The Greeke hath it Escas iustitiae That God hath giuen yee a Master that shall bee vnto you as the verie meate and nourishment of Righteousnesse to feed and preserue your soules and will restore vnto you the yeares that the Locusts hath eaten the canker-worme and the catterpillar and the palmer-worme c. And if in Commonwealths to haue Masters and wise and learned Teachers bee of so inestimable a price that Aristotle asking the reason why they had no set stipend or reward as many other Offices States had answeres it thus Because there could bee no reward answerable to their desert What then might this Master merit of the World beeing so singular and learned a Teacher in whome were deposited all the treaseres of the Wisedome of God In regard of this happinesse our Sauiour Christ sayd Beati oculi quâ— vident quae vos videâ—is The Scribes therfore and the Pharisees comming vnto him and in a flattering and scorneful manner calling him Master it is no maâ—â—aile that the mildenesse of this Lambe should be turned into the furie of a Lyon and that he sayd vnto them Generatio mala c. Saint Chrysostome sayes That they went about to flatter him as they had done at other times when they spake vnto him by the same name As when they said Magister licet censum dare Caesari Magister quod est mandatum magnum in Lege Magister quid faciendo vitam aeternam possidebo Master is it lawfull to giue tribute vnto Caesar Master which is the great Commandement in the Law Master What shall I doe to inherit eternall life And that our Sauiour being offended that they should flatter him with their mouths whom they abhorred in their hearts beeing like vnto those lewd women who the lighter they are the fuller of flatterie he grew somewhat hot and angrie with them But I conceiue the fault of these Scribes and Pharisees was more foule than so For flatterie vsually carryeth with it a desire to please and is full of courtesie which these kind of People neuer expressed towards our Sauiour And this my suspition is the more augmented by that miracle of that blind man whom the Scribes as supreame Iudges so strictly examined asking him so often Who is he that hath healed thee To whom he answered My Masters I haue told yee alreadie Why are yee so importunate with me Are ye purposed peraduenture to bee his Disciples This made my Gentlemen verie angrie insomuch that they said Tu Discipulus illius sis Wee wish thee no worse plague than that thou maist be his Disciple So that holding this a kind of curse and malediction and yet to stile him with the name of Master must be a stuffe that is made of a courser thred than Flatterie Besides mocking and scorning was a proper and peculiar vice annexed to the Iewes And Saint Chrysostome doth not terme it onely flatterie but adulation and irrision Verba inquit sunt plena adulatione irrisionâ— And that Text of Saint Luke fauoureth this opinion Alij tentantes eum signum de coelo quaerebant Others tempting him required a signe from heauen Where this word Tentantes implieth much more And the Author of the imperfect Worke saith That these Scribes and Pharisees vsed double dealing herein desiring nothing more than by this their soothing with him to discredit our Sauiour Christ alledging That those miracles were not so sure and certaine as to enforce beliefe or to merit their vndoubted credence And that they being as it were the Suns of that Commonwealth whom the people did credit and respect next vnder God they did labour to winne themselues credit in his presence by disgracing those miracles which our Sauiour had wrought But our Sauiour hauing recourse to the honour of his Father and his owne reputation could not hold
an old Horse whose mouth is presumed to be shut preferring their loose Kindred and such as haue jadish trickes before deuout and irreprehensible persons A Prelat shall bestow a hundred Ducats pension vpon a poore Student and he will be bound à reâ—ar el diuino officio to pray ouer all the good prayers that be for him but hee shall bestow a twentie or thirtie thousand Ducats on his Kinseman and he shall scarce rezar el rosario turne ouer his beads for him Dic vt sedeant bi duo filij mei Grant that these my two sonnes may sit c. Now the mother intreats with the loue and affection of a mother so it seemeth to Saint Ambrose and Saint Hilarie and as it is to be collected out of Saint Marke and from that You know not what you aske As also by that Can you drinke of my Cup Whither they were thrones in Heauen as Saint Chrysostome would haue it or on earth which though neuer so prosperous they could imagine at most to be but temporall I will not stand to dispute it if of heauen few vnderstand it if of earth they would make this their pilgrimage a permanent habitation And if they held Peter to be a foole because he would haue had Tabernacles built on Mount Tabor What shall wee say to these that would haue perpetuall seats of honour All the Courts of the earth are but portches and gatehouses to those Pallaces ofheauen where the lackey and the scullion as well c. Nescitis quid petatis Yee know not what ye aske They did first of all imagine That from the death of Christ his Crown and Empire was to take it's beginning Now to desire seats of honour of one that was scourged spit vpon stripâ— naked and crucified and to seeke that his bloud should be the price of theâ—â— honour was meere fooliâ—â—nesse When the people would haue made a King of our Sauâ—our Christ he â—â—ed from them to the mountaine taking it as an affront thâ—â— they should offer to clap an earthly Crowne vp-his hâ—ad So doth Thomas expound that place of Saint Paul Who for the joy that was set before him endured the Crosse and despised the shame When a Kings Crown was proposed vnto him by the World he made choice of the Crosse holding that affront the lesse of the two What then might he thinke when treating of his death they should craue chaires of honour making lesse reckoning of his bloud than of their owne aduancement For three transgressions of Israell sayth Amos and for foure I will not turne to it because they sould the Righteous for siluer and the Poore for shooes That is made more reckoning of the mucke of the world than mens liues Galatinus Adrianus Finus and Rabbi Samuel transferre this fault vpon those Pharisees which sould our Sauiour to secure their wealth and their honours The Romans will come and take both our Kingdome and our Nation from vs. Wherein these his Disciples seemed to suit with them for the Pharisees treated of our Sauiours death that they might not loose their Chaires and his Disciples that they might get them Yee know not c. Why would they not haue Peter share with them in their fauour and their honour In Mount Tabor he was mindfull of Iames and Iohn but Iames and Iohn did not once thinke vpon Peter The reason whereof is for that the glorie of heauen is easily parted and diuided with others And because God will that all should bee saued man is likewise willing to yeeld thereunto But for the glorie of the earth there is scarce that man that will admit a copartner And if Christ our Sauiour had granted them their request they would presently haue contested which should haue sate on his right hand For in these worldly aduancements and honours brother will be against brother and seeke to cut each others throat Iacob and Esau stroue who should be borne first get away the blessing from the other Potestis bibere calicem Can yee drinke of the Cup c. Ambition like the Elephant out of a desire to command will not sticke to beare Castles Towers on his backe till it be readie to breake with the weight of it's burthen Why should Peter couet honour if like a Tower it must lie heauily vpon him King Antiochus had three hundred Elephants in his Army and euerie one bare a Tower of wood vpon his backe and in them thirtie persons â— piece The ambitious man like Atlas will make no bones to beare vp heauen with his shoulders though it make him to groane neuer so hard and that in the end he must come tumbling downe with it to the ground Many pretend that which makes much for their hurt presuming that they deserue what they desire In matter of presumption there is not that man that will know or acknowledge any aduantage Many men complaine of the badnesse of the Times of the hardnesse of their fortune of the small fauour that they find as also of their want of health but few or none of their want of sufficiencie or their lacke 〈◊〉 vnderstanding Seneca saith That Vnderstanding is noâ— a thing that can 〈◊〉 bought or borrowed Nay more That if it were to be sould at an open outcry and in the publique market place there would not a Chapman bee found 〈◊〉 deale for it For the poorest Vnderstanding that is will presume to bee able 〈◊〉 giue councell to Seneca and to Plâ—to Absalon wooing the peoples affecâ—â—on breakes out in Court into this insinuating but traiterous phrase of speech 〈◊〉 that I were made Iudge in the Lâ—â—d that euerie man thaâ— hath any matter 〈…〉 might come to 〈◊〉 that I might do him Iustice. Traitor as thou art thou goest aboâ—â— to take away thy fathers Kingdome his life from him and yet the plea 〈◊〉 thou pretendest is forsooth to doe euery man right and justice Possumus Saint Bernard sets downe three sorts of Ambition The one Modest and bashfull which vseth it's diligences but withall such as are lawfull and honest For it is a lawfull thing to pretend honour though not to pretend it be the greater vertue The other Arrogant and insolent looking for kneeling and adoration The third Mad and furious that will downe with all that stands in it's way and hale Honour by the lockes and with his poinyard in his hand seeke to force her Saint Cyprian in an Epistle of his preacheth the selfe same doctrine Of these three sorts of Ambition the first is the most tollerable and the least scandalous The third is cruell The second which in Court is the most common is most base and vile howbeit according to Saint Bernard it is Vicium magnatum A vice that followes your greatest and grauest Councellours and your principall Prelats not your meaner and ordinarie persons It is a secret Poyson which pierâ—eth to the heart of this mysticall bodie of the Church For this name Esay giues to the
reason for it If the master of the family were called by the name of Belzeebu◠what name will they giue to those of his house Gregorie Nazianzen treating of certaine Heretickes who made the diuine persons disequall sayth In bona◠partem hoc accipe Sancta Trinitas nec tu stultorum linguas prorsus effugisti O blessed Trinitie receiue my words with that good intention which I deliuer them thou hast not escaped cleere from the tongues of fooles It ought therefore to bee a great comfort vnto thee that those fooles should mutter against thee that spake ill of God The Athenians sentenced one Iupido a base fellow to bee put to death in Phocions company who was a famous man and Iupido weeping as he went along to execution Phocion sayd vnto him Why doost thou weepe Thinkst thou it a small happinesse that thou must dye in my company The like words doth Nazianzen vse to those that are iniured by the tongues of fooles Thinkest thou it a small happines that thou shouldst suffer therein with God Saint Chrysostome sayth That an euill tongue is worse than a dogge for hee onely teares a mans cloaths and his flesh but an ill tongue mens honours liues and soules Saint Bernard sayth That it is worse than that piercing of our Sauiours side with the speare For that speare did but wound the dead bodie of our Sauiour Christ but this sting of the tongue our Sauiour beeing aliue the one therein beeing lesse cruell than the other Dauid sayth That an ill tongue differs but little from Hell From the depth of Hels wombe and from a foule tongue good Lord deliuer vs. Where you see he makes it a peece of his Letanie Many doe murmure by intimating a secret This is onely committed to thy brest whence it neuer ought to goe out They doe not consider who commit a secret to a man that therein they inioyne him not to keepe it It is a great foolerie to thinke that another will keepe that secret which thou thy selfe couldst not conceale And as great a folly is it that thou shouldst hold him vnfaithful who reuealeth thy secret and take thy selfe to be loyall when as thou wast vnfaithfull to thy selfe Thou doost not keepe that secret which God and his Law commands thee and thou holdst him disloyall that breakes but the Lawes of the World Thou defamest thy neighbour by reuealing his defects to thy friend and yet wouldst faine make show that thou art very tender of his honour But Iesus knew their thoughts and sayd Euery Kingdome deuided against it selfe shal be desolate Mathew recounting another Miracle of a dumbe Deuill the Scribes the Pharisees sayd In principe daemoniorū c. Our Sauior at that time did dissemble their blasphemie hoping as S. Chrysostome sayth that the splendor of that Miracle should by little and little ouercome them But perceiuing in this Miracle that they perseuered in their malice and that his silence gaue occasion vnto them to increase their suspition hee made a short and cutted Sermon vnto them For there are occasions wherein a man ought to bee silent and wherein he ought to speake And so those two places in the Prouerbs which seeme quite contrarie are well reconciled Answere not a foole according to his foolishnesse least thou also be like him And againe Answere a foole according to his foolishnesse least he be wise in his owne conceit To reply sometimes to the fooleries of a foole is to be a foole And not to reply vnto him is to giue him occasion to take himselfe to be wiser than he is These two places Saint Cyprian quoteth in that his Tract which he made against Demerianus Who grew so shamelesse and so impudent in commending Paganisme and condemning Christianitie that after a long silence he brake out and sayd Vltra tacere non oportet I may no longer hold my peace The like course did our Sauiour here take with the Scribes and Pharisees And for the better conuincing of them he made answer to their inward thoughts which is a propertie onely belonging to God Not because they did not blaspheme him with their mouths for the word Dixerunt proues that sufficiently but because they did either blaspheme him between their teeth as Saint Chrysostom will haue it or because some did vtter this blasphemie with their mouth and other some with their heart Euery Kingdome diuided in it selfe Although the Deuils are at a continuall discord amongst themselues yet against Man they euermore ioyne their forces together according to that of Esay Et discurrent daemonia Onocentaurus Bilosus clamauit alter ad alterum Make a squadron of Deuills and of your Birds of rapine and you shall find that they will combine themselues together for our hurt Aristotle hath obserued that your tamer sorts of fowles as Pigeons Geese Cranes and Thrushes goe together in flockes and keepe companie and friendship one with another But your Birds of Rapine as your Eagles Kytes Vultures and the like go still alone by themselues So the Deuils neuer keepe companie amongst themselues but against Man they lincke and combine themselues Iob compares them to strong shields that are sure scaled being set so close one to another that no winde can come betweene them nor any the least ayre pierce through them One is ioyned to another They sticke so together that they cannot be sundred This is a stampe of that strict vnion which is betwixt the Deuill and his Members For the reprobate according to Saint Gregorie set themselues against Man Saint Luke sayth of the Faithfull of the Primitiue Church They were all of one mind and of one heart For though euery one in particular was the Sonne of his Father and the sonne of his Mother yet Charitie made them all sonnes of one Soule and one Heart And as the children of God linke themselues together in loue so the Deuils and the wicked ones ioyne together in malice And here by the way we may in the Church take one case into our consideration which is a great dishonour to Christianitie and a great glorie vnto Hell to wit That the Deuills beeing such enemies amongst themselues should yet confederate themselues for our hurt And that Christians tied by so many great and glorious titles to bee louing friends each to other should euerie foot disagree not onely in point of their owne priuat profit but in causes appertaining to God That King with King and Prince with Prince should wage war about the partition of their Kingdomes it is not much But that Prelate with Prelate Diuine with Diuine and Preacher with Preacher should bee at difference this is somewhat strange Vnde bella lites in vobis Saith Saint Iames Form whence are warres and contentions amongst you is it not onely from your owne lusts that fight in your members But Sathan that sower of discord doth also sollicite and incite thereunto euen the holiest and best sort of people
vpon their coyne an Oxe a creature that in his feeding goes still backeward which is the hieroglyphicke or embleme of a couetous man who the more he eats the more backeward he goes Set not thy eyes nor thy thoughts vpon riches for when thou least thinkest of it they shall betake them to their wings like an Eagle and shall flie vp to heauen Riches that are ill gotten flie vp to Gods tribunall seat and there like so many fiscalls or busie Attornies accuse thee for an vniust possessor of them and crie out as loud against thee as the bloud of Abel against his brother Cain The fourth thing that wee may draw from this patterne is That a Prince ought more sharpely to correct those abuses and vices which are growne old through custome especially those of your great and powerfull Ministers who commit them without controlement by publike authoritie God deliuer vs from those Ministers who sell that for their priuate profit which they are bound to doe gratis out of their Office and from that Priest which makes sale of the administration of the Sacraments from that Confessor that will be soundly payd for his Absolution From that Iudge that will be bribed before hee will doe iustice and from that Secretary that makes sutors come off roundly for their quicker dispatch These be things that send many of them quicke to hell The Pharisees should haue kept their Temple cleane from all couetousnesse haue banished your Merchants bankes and haue fauoured and graced those their Sacrifices in stead whereof they sold those beasts that were to be offered made money of them and put the same forth to vse and profit as others did Sacerdotes eius contempserunt legeÌ„ meam à sabbatis mois ouerterunt oculos suos coinquinabar in medio eorum The Priests of my Temple haue broken my Law and haue defiled my holy things They haue put no difference betweene the holy and prophane neyther dâ—scerned betweene the vncleane and the cleane and haue hid their eyes from my Sabboths and I am prophaned amongst them Where I would haue you by the way to waigh that same word coinquinabar For the Ministers of a State being theeues they make their Lord Master likewise a theef thou hast made my house a den of theeues by being thy selfe a companion of theeues According to that of Esay Socij furum And therefore Christ lasheth them with whips a sitting punishment for theeues Saint Ierome saith That he is a theefe and makes the Church a den of theeues Qui lucrum de religione reportat Who out of the duty of his Ecclesiasticall dignity makes priuat gaine and profit to himselfe Saint Gregory is of the same minde And as Theodosius the Emperour said Quid poterit esse securum si sanctitas as incorrupta corrumpatur What can be secure if incorrupted Sanctity shall be corrupted Which is all one with that of Iob That a Gouernour should rob widowes and deuoure their houses being bound to defend and protect them that he should strip that poore man naked whom he ought to cloath this is a great crueltie There is a curse that lyes vpon them that shall lead away the Asse of the fatherlesse and take the widowes Oxe to pledge that shall rise early for a prey cause the naked to lodge without garment and without couering in the cold and to plucke the fatherlesse from the breast c. It is so due a debt which Princes owe to fauour succour and defend the right of the poore of the fatherlesse and of the widow that Cassiodorus in his thirty nine epistle saith That it is as needlesse and superfluous a businesse to aske it at his hands as to sue to that which is heauy to descend downeward or to that which is light to ascend vpward But Saluianus lamenting the miseries of his times complaineth That your great and powerfull Ministers in stead of complying with their obligaâ—ion and in stead of fauouring and defending their poore Vassalls sell them Iustice at a deare rate Verifying that lamentation of Ieremy Aquam nostram pecunia bibimus ligna nostra praetio comparauimus Selling vnto them the water of their wells and a sticke of fire from their hearthes And would to God they would but sell their water and their wood as others vse to doe at common and ordinary rates for then there would something remaine to the buyer but there is a new kind of tyranny now adayes he that sells wraps and wrings all he can vnto him but returnes nothing takes all but giues not a dodkin to the poore whereas he that buyes giues all that hee hath and receiueth nothing And therefore in that Countrey or Kingdome where the Great ones are all so generally bad it is no great wonder that Religion Iustice and whatsoeuer else belonging to gouernment should be sold and set forth to sale Ieroboam made of the lowest of the people Priests of the high places Who would giue most money might consecrate himselfe and bee of the Priests of the high places which thing as the Text sayth turned vnto sinne to the house of Ieroboam euen to root it out and destroy it from the face of the Earth Simon Magus sought to buy the grace of the holy Ghost What his gracelesse pretension came to I neede not tell you you knowing already how deare it cost him The Emperour Iustinian sayd That the selling of Iustice in a Commonwealth was the vtter vndoing of it for why should not that Iudge or Officer robbe and steale who payd so great a summe of money for his Commission What would a Theefe an Adulterer or a Murderer care if hee knew he might redeeme his offence with money He that buyes must of force sell So sayd Alexander Seuâ—rus And therefore he would neuer consent as Lampridius reporteth it that any office at least of Iurisdiction should bee sold in the Empire The Priests therefore of the Temple selling the sayd oblations it is not much that our Sauiour should whip them and that hee should call them Theeues The last thing that a gouernor may draw from this patterne is perseuerance There are many which are as the Glosse hath vpon the decretals Primo ferâ—ens postea deficiunt Hot at first and afterwards grow cold When they are a little warme in their place they flagge and fall off punishing one and freeing another and both vniustly They wincke at theeues and robbers on the high way they cancell Deedes falsifie Records conceale Writings alter Euidences foist in false indictments set delinquents at libertie facilitate causes and a thousand the like disorders to the great detriment and disauthoritie of Iustice. And therefore they make the Crane the Hieroglyph of a good Iudge which neuer changes his plumes but is all of one and the same colour both in his youth and in his age Out of this Historie I shall inferre three or foure conclusions The first if the